The Ministry of Mines organised a high-level consultative workshop in New Delhi on 28 April 2026 on developing the critical minerals value chain. The meeting brought together government, industry, academia and international institutions to discuss ways to strengthen India's critical mineral ecosystem.
In his keynote address, Piyush Goyal, Secretary, Ministry of Mines, called for greater private participation to accelerate India's critical minerals value chain. Referring to the National Critical Minerals Mission, he stressed a resilient and self-reliant supply chain supported by reforms, ease of doing business and targeted incentives. He said critical minerals are central to India's energy transition, economic growth and technological advancement, requiring faster work in exploration, processing and recycling.
The workshop highlighted mine waste, tailings, slags and industrial residues as viable and cost-effective sources of critical minerals. It also stressed urban mining, especially recycling of electronic waste and end-of-life batteries, backed by the government's incentive framework.
Technical sessions covered recovery from secondary sources, emerging technologies, pilot projects, recycling ecosystems, and policy and technology gaps that must be bridged to scale the sector. Experts from Indian companies and global institutions including the World Bank discussed technological readiness, commercial viability and policy enablers. The discussions emphasised converting laboratory innovations into scalable industrial solutions and using policy frameworks to attract private investment. The workshop ended with consensus on closer coordination among government, industry and academia to speed up pilots and scale proven technologies.